What The Papers Say – 27 October

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton.

Former Everton defender Joleon Lescott has told Sky Sports his old Goodison Park boss David Moyes rebuffed an opportunity to swap Leighton Baines for Gareth Bale more than a decade ago.

Wales forward Bale had to wait 25 matches for his first victory with Tottenham Hotspur – the club he rejoined on loan from Real Madrid this summer – after leaving Southampton for White Hart Lane in 2007.

“I remember that time, it was around when he [Bale] was getting stick for his first 20 appearance or something like that ending in a loss (sic),” said Lescott.

“Coming in after the game [Everton vs Spurs] Bainesy, who I was really close with… we were talking and Harry Redknapp wanted to swap them.

“He pulled Baines to one side, had a conversation with him, so I asked, ‘What was going on there?’

“He said they were interested in doing a swap for Bale.

“One of the main reasons that didn’t happen was because Bale’s record was so bad and David Moyes didn’t want to swap.”

Everton continue to be linked with Napoli forward Arkadiusz Milik.

Calciomercato in Italy reckons Everton and Tottenham Hotspur will aim to scupper the plans of Juventus, who want to pick up Milik for nothing when his Napoli contract finishes next summer.

The Premier League duo will move for Poland international Milik in January, according to the latest report, with €7m (£6.4m) apparently enough to prise the 26-year-old from Napoli.

Milik joined Napoli from Ajax in the summer of 2016 and has scored 48 goals in 122 appearances for the Serie A club.

Lucas Digne’s sending off against Southampton is dissected by one of the Frenchman’s predecessors in Everton’s left-back position in Michael Ball.

Writing in the Liverpool Echo, Ball asserts the red card for Digne was “harsh” and the Everton’s player’s connection with Southampton right-back Kyle Walker-Peters was “just a coming together”.

But, emphasises Ball, “It's disappointing to be missing Digne for the next few games because he's a great player, but it's an opportunity now for someone else to come in and step up to the plate”.

Teamtalk, meanwhile, says former Everton striker Oumar Niasse has interest from Championship pair Middlesbrough and Derby County.

Senegalese Niasse is a free agent following the expiry of his Goodison Park contract.

The report claims the 30-year-old will reject offers to remain in England, however, preferring a move to the Middle East where Niasse supposedly has suitors in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE.